Onwards Until Forever
by LeviosaLove
Summary: The light that shines through the years, and those that see it. "You make it sound as if we're at war." She lifted her head. "Perhaps we are." Silence, and then "A war needs soldiers." Her eyes never left the distant shore "Then we shall start the muster." A tale of the magic that through the years has been hidden and shrouded in darkness, and those who will set it free.
1. Chapter 1

_**Onwards Until Forever**_

_**A SYOC by LeviosaLove**_

* * *

After all these years, you have to look back on the world and say 'What has changed? What have I done to make this a better place?' The Golden Trio and their beloved offspring's time has come to an end, and they died knowing that their world was all the better for what they have done.

But the inspiration and peace and glory of a war well won cannot last forever- after all, we have human nature to consider. And that is something even magic, it seems, cannot overcome. Slowly the self-destructive pride, prejudice and hatred of millennia began to seep back into the Wizarding world. Their heroes were dead and gone. And all they had worked for slowly crumbled to dust, as all things do, in the end.

But aren't there always new heroes rising to the challenge? Isn't there always something to mend, and someone to do it? After all, what was the noble war but an attempt to fix all that is broken, all that is wrong? But isn't that what both sides believe that they're doing?

No man believes himself evil. _No matter how terribly wrong he is. _

And now, the evil comes in a subtler way, but one that is perhaps all the more bitter and destructive for it.

From _within_.

The magical world needs someone to save it again. But this time, from itself.

So only the keen of eye and the true of heart and the strong of spirit will even dare to try.

Perhaps the greatest evil of all is the one that lives within the ones, the people and places that touch our hearts and souls. The one that we all must confront within ourselves.

But all philosophy aside, our world is in danger- the one that has shaped our very dreams for so many years. The world of magic- and the danger lingers just below the surface. So I beg of you- come and unmask it. Discover it and vanquish it from our world, and find within yourself the light that shines through all ages- the very same light within our beloved heroes of that last war, and the very same light that shines on your path now.

Please.

We need you now- you and everything you are and everything you could be.

All of you.

* * *

Hello and welcome to Onwards Until Forever, a SYOC! BUT ONLY VIA PM. The reason I keep reiterating this is because I am a rule-abiding goody-two-shoes. Now that we've established that, here is some basic information about the story and how your character can be a part of it.

Plot: Hogwarts is once again whole- but inter-house rivalries, prejudice, etc. run rampant- even more so than before the Noble wars (1st and 2nd Order of the Phoenix vs. Voldemort). And magic isn't what it used to be. These last years, the power inside every witch and wizard has started fading- and the spells that used to be common knowledge are locked away in vaults, only used by the most wealthy and privileged. Magic has turned into almost purely theory, and most students aren't lucky enough to obtain wands until 3rd year. These students struggle to overcome adversity and cherish the meager magic they are so privileged to have. Part of the story will be the daily life of characters at Hogwarts, interactions, etc. until they are summoned by the headmaster/mistress. During this summons, they are told that there is something no one has told them- there is so much more to the power they hold inside themselves than Latin incantations and governing principles.

Magic is alive- and the wand chooses the wizard. But the wand hasn't chosen the wizard- not for many years. Something within the core of magic changed, and the wands were no longer subject to any master, their true powers locked away inside. Until the arrival of these students- the only wizards in nearly a decade with a wand, a magic that is truly alive. The Wizarding World is in some sort of slumber, a hibernation- and it's time for it to wake up. Can these extraordinary witches and wizards find out the horrifying truth behind the oppression of magic- and illuminate the way of those who came before them, and shine a guiding light for all those that will follow.

So that's the premise of our story. Other things to consider:

This story has a BASIC plot mapped out. Very basic, subject to change, suggestion, etc. Also if your character is used, don't be afraid to suggest things to do with them, or that I change the way they're written. You know them better than anyone.

I don't need just students! It's an entirely new cast of characters- that means professors, gamekeepers, headmistresses, ministry personnel, muggles, squibs- but especially professors and a headmaster/mistress.

Obviously, we can't have 10 students in Gryffindor, or 5 transfiguration professors. That's not to say some characters won't have things in common, but do try to make your character unique and interesting.

I don't even have to say it, do I? I do? Darn. Okay, then let's get this out of the way. NO MARY-SUES/GARY-STUES PLEASE. I understand that your character is awesome, but nobody is perfect and nobody is all-powerful- especially not a character in this story. Thanks.

More on character realism: Please no first-years, 6th or 7th years. The idea is that they're old enough to handle adventure, but haven't been 'in the system' long enough to be brainwashed. Also, no animaguses/metamorphmaguses YET. The plot is that they discover a lot of forgotten magic, so they will become either an animagus or metamorphmagus- but not at the start. Oh, and no relatives/descendants/friends of the potters, Weasleys, Scamanders, Longbottoms, etc. Originality is key- these kids don't even know about the heroes of the past.

Feel free to submit more than one character, but don't get offended if I choose just one. IN fact, don't get offended at all because of anything I do or don't include in the story. If your character isn't selected, it's likely because a) There wasn't room b) they were a repeat of another previously submitted character or c) You didn't follow the guidelines. No hard feelings? I love you all regardless!

SUBMIT YOUR CHARCTER VIA PM. NOT REVIEW. Yes, it matters.

At the bottom of your form under the category other, put the phrase "Turn to page 394."

That's all for the guidelines! I hope your character will be submitted, and I'm looking forward to meeting them. Thank you! Here's a form.

* * *

First Name:

Middle Name:

Surname/Last Name:

Nickname (Explain how he/she got it):

House:

Year:

Age:

Birthday:

Hometown:

Blood (Pure-Blood, Half-blood, Muggleborn):

Father (Basic info, background):

Mother (Basic info, background):

How his/her Parents met (Be descriptive):

Personality (Be VERY Descriptive):

Imperfections and flaws:

Greatest fear(s):

Hair Style:

Hair Color:

Eye Color:

Celebrity Look Alike:

Physical Build:

Pre-Hogwarts/ home life (Be descriptive):

How he/she, life, received a Hogwarts letter*(optional):

Hogwarts life:

Wand (Important for the storyline):

Hobbies (Quidditch, Prefect etc.):

Romance (Yes/no or what they want in a relationship):

(Eventual) Animagus or Metamorphmagus:

If Animagus, what animal:

Other:

* * *

Here is my OC, who will be in the story. I'm open to critique as well.

* * *

First Name: Brianna

Middle Name: Maria

Surname/Last Name: Skvarla

Nickname (Explain how he/she got it): Brie (Shortened version of her name. Simple stuff.)

House: Ravenclaw

Year: 3rd

Age: 14

Birthday: March 3rd

Zodiac Sign*(optional): Pisces

Hometown: Belfast, Ireland

Blood (Pure-Blood, Half-blood, Muggleborn): Half-blood

Father (Just give a simple description of him): Joseph Skvarla, he's a wizard who informed his wife we was magical after marriage. He works in the Magical Creatures department of the ministry, and is reasonably respected within the Wizarding Community. He and Brie are very close.

Mother (Just give a simple description of her): Elisabeth Skvarla is a muggle who works in zoology, and though she was initially shocked at her husband's secret life, she was able to come to terms with it. She's always been a bit uncomfortable with magic, and so a bit distant from her daughter.

How his/her Parents met (Be descriptive): They met when Joe, wandering the forests of Ireland in search of an elusive herd of thestrals, he ran headlong into a distracted woman, who was also searching for something- a strange local phenomena involving strange horses only some could see. He carefully explained to her about the horses, and the strange phenomena that made the light bend around their coats, rendering them invisible to all but the keenest eye. Over a coffee, they talked for a while about the non-magical flora and fauna of that area, and became quite enamored with one another. They gradually grew closer, until they became engaged. Then, Joe finally revealed his magic, and in the same week, they found out Elisabeth was pregnant. Thus, their family began.

Personality (Be VERY Descriptive): Brianna is sharp and witty- she's got a sense of humor, but is also a stickler for the rules, and is afraid of getting in trouble- not because of the consequences, but because she doesn't want to disappoint anyone. She has a hard time letting her guard down and trusting anyone; she wears a mask and doesn't let her feelings show, no matter how badly you hurt her. Brie has a strong conscience, sense of duty, and she always cares a whole lot about things that might not matter to others. She never wants to hurt anyone, and is fiercely protective of her friends. Her strength is her wit and quick thinking, as well as her intuition and people sense- she knows if you're lying, and she knows if you're the type of person that would betray her. But that also means she has a heightened sense of empathy. She understands what they're feeling, and even if she doesn't she's willing to listen. She loves the ocean, and the great outdoors. You'll often find her curled up under a tree by the seashore with a good book, or writing poetry or thoughtful prose. But the usually reserved Brie is one of the fiercest duelers around, and can hold her own against most any adversary.

Imperfections and flaws: She can be very quiet and reserved- overly so sometimes. Her fears can keep her from being the best she can be, and her unwillingness to be rebellious and break the rules make her unlikable in the eyes of some. She cares about what others think and say, and won't stand up for herself when people say or do things that tear her down- she retreats into herself and cries about it later.

Greatest fear(s): Brie fears letting people down, and never being good enough for those around her. Her biggest fear is coming across a problem that can never be solved- and people getting hurt because of her failure.

Hair Style: Her hair is crazy-curly, and comes down to her elbows. She usually wears it up, or mostly up, to keep it out of her way, but it's quite attractive when down.

Hair Color: It's honey brown, with dark and light sections (natural)

Eye Color: deep brown with specks of gold and green.

Celebrity Look Alike: Emma Watson (or Cassadee Pope)

Physical Build: Brie is 5'3, with an athletic, slim build.

Pre-Hogwarts life (Be descriptive): She was extremely close to her father; they'd often spend many evenings together absorbed in books or talking about the world, magic and anything and everything that came their way. Her mother was a bit distant through the years, because Brie was the reason she couldn't leave. She's uncomfortable around magic, and whenever Brie showed signs of accidental magic, her mother would hush her and not speak to or look at her for weeks. She was a bit of a lonely child, whom the others did not understand. She preferred the company of heroes and heroines and witches and wizards and her father to that of the petty children at her school. She did have one friend, a boy named Louis who lived next door for a while. But eventually, Louis saw Brie using magic, and so they could never be friends again.

How he/she, life, received a Hogwarts letter*(optional): She came home from school on her birthday to find her mother crying as an owl sat patiently on her windowsill.

Hogwarts life: Finally finding a place where she belonged, Brie flourished at Hogwarts, delighting in the chance to learn magic, and finally be a part of a house that was every bit as special as she. She's friends with most anyone, particularly those in her dorm, with whom she's had many a midnight chat about the origins of the universe (and girl-talk besides). She does enjoy quidditch as a chaser (If it works, she could be on the team), but is no fanatic. She remains a stickler for the rules, making her an easy target for Gryffindor pranksters.

Wand: Her wand is birch, with unicorn tail-hair, 11 inches, slightly swishy, great for charms work

Hobbies (Quidditch, Prefect etc.): A true Ravenclaw, Brie is quite studious, and hopes to be made a prefect and eventually head girl. She enjoys quidditch, having won the position of chaser newly this year in contest with many older students. She's good at intuitively sensing what her teammates need, taking smart shots and contributing to team strategy.

Romance (Yes/no or what they want in a relationship): Brie looks for someone who can always be honest with her, is equally passionate about learning, and can make her laugh. She may accept people others shy away from because of their 'differentness'. Outward appearances don't matter all that much, but what's inside.

(Eventual) Animagus or Metamorphmagus: Animagus

If Animagus, what animal: Owl

Other: Turn to page 394.

* * *

_So that's really all, thank you so much if you made it this far. I'm looking forward to meeting all your amazing heroes and heroines- and you as well. Cheers!_

_Love,_

_Leviosa_


	2. Chapter 2-SYOC CLOSED

**Onwards Until Forever**

_**As They Begin**_

_A/N (edit) Ello! Cleaning up this chapter and adding to it, as well as deleting some of the technical stuff so its less of a big long form and more of a story. Honestly, you may want to reread it, because not only is one section drastically re-written, there's some new stuff as well. I'm editing Chapter 3 today, and next chapter (Chapter 4) going up today, and every single character will get a line so help me god. Bless all you lovely people. Thanks!_

Alrighty then! This is Hogwarts class of whatever-year-it-is so far, folks! Gianna, Iris, Rosalie and Oz are our Slytherins, Marcus, Raphael, Riley and Sabrina are our Hufflepuffs, Kaitlyn, Vincent, Helly and Mason are our Gryffindors, and Brie, Abigail, Leo and Owen are our Ravenclaws.

Thanks to those who submitted these awesome characters:

The Jesteress, king okami, MyOtherPersonality, Tiggerwithjam, Hobgoblin73, TwinMasks, Artemis' hunters, LilacFields, POMForever, InsaneKids159, Enmfaming4, shadowssj12, Realusernamesaretoomainstream, TheNightGirl, Death's General, Aster Williams, IAmTheStars, munamana, and last but not least, The x Courier.

Please feel free to edit my description of your character or send in your own- it's tough to compress all that info into a paragraph or so and still get a good handle on the characters. I fear I may not have done them justice.

Thank you for these characters that I've been proud to dig into, *attempt* to summarize, and make a part of this story. Your characters have given it a life of its own, and I thank you for that.

Character Synopsis-

The Students

Slytherins:

Gianna Marie Daniels, a golden haired, ice-blue eyed 6th year (16 yrs. old) Slytherin from London, England is your typical pureblood princess- or is she? With an abusive father and a meek and broken mother, Gianna's many facades and fronts are because she's always been afraid of showing compassion, opinion, or any emotion at all. She's a sharp, cynical girl whose daily act of the bigoted, self-centered, disdainful, perfectionist, evil, perfect little mean girl is a part of who she is- but it's not all there is to her, not even close. Because when all you've ever known is brokenness and expectations, you can't help but be on your guard. If you give her the chance, Gianna is funny, loving, and scared- no that you'd ever get close enough to see it.

Prefect & Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch Team (Chaser)

Iris Clara Grey, a grey-eyed, strawberry blonde 3rd year (13 yrs. old) Slytherin from Mullingar, Ireland is a bit of a troublemaker- but she's got to have an outlet for all the pressure she's under. And a lot of the things her classmates laugh at, the things she says to teachers and other houses are mostly just to cover up her own insecurities and flaws. She's terrified of letting anyone down, yet at the same disregards responsibility and acts as though she doesn't care- a counterproductive combination possibly a product of her thoroughly confusing home life, where nothing she does ever seems good enough. Getting into trouble is something that draws her family to her- and it seems as though it's the only thing. Her genuine attempts at friendship are too often rebuffed, and sometimes she wonders whether she really belongs. But she's cunning, energetic, and loyal when it counts- and she's not afraid of what anyone thinks of her besides those she cares about.

Beater for the Slytherin Quidditch Team

Rosalie Marie Amaro, a bright blue-eyed, brown-haired 4th year (14 yrs. old) Slytherin from Sicily is not afraid of you. Or anyone. She can lie, mislead and manipulate you to do anything she pleases, but will fight with everything she has to get what she wants and keep her loved ones safe. Don't insult her, or her friends- because she will get you, one way or another. Rosa's quick wit and determination combined with her temper and ruthlessness make her a formidable opponent- but in reality she's deathly afraid of being betrayed. And never letting your guard down gets tiring after a while.

Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch Team

James 'Oz' Kendall Oswald IV, a dark red-haired, pale-green-eyed 4th year Slytherin is in the know. All the time, everywhere constantly. He knows if Professor McGee is having marital issues, if the notes will be on the pop quiz- oh, you didn't know there would be a pop quiz? He did. A rapier wit, charm, and casual rebelliousness, and extraordinary intuition and cunning put Oz in a position of subtle power. Little do they know how much more there is than meets the eye. With a lonely childhood, ignored by his parents and siblings, Oz has to believe that there is a better way to live than the fake life he's always known. His debonair manner, impaired vision as far as boundaries are concerned, and sometimes deserved disdain for the masses all jumble up into someone who's always nine steps ahead - and yet still unsure about where he stands. A strategist through and through he is, but something within Oz never lets him forget about his heart- however buried under witticisms and information-trading it may be.

Chaser for the Slytherin Quidditch Team

Hufflepuff:

Marcus Dornez Blackwood, a black-haired, dark-skinned, green-eyed 6th year (16 yrs. old) makes for a very intimidating first impression. With his twisted past, large build and wild-ish appearance, Marcus is all too often perceived as the opposite of what he truly is- a quiet, level-headed gentleman who will stand up for the weak and isn't afraid of work or adversity. He's a loyal friend, but he doesn't trust easily, nor will he uphold any illusions about his feeling for you. If he doesn't like you, then that's that. Though his honesty is appreciated, at times he can be too blunt and is perceived as cold and standoffish when he's truly just introspective and intuitive. Though he gets into fights, he really tries to be a great wizard and person- just like his father. But then, look where that got him...

Raphael Perseus York is a sandy-haired, brown-eyed 3rd year (13 yrs. old) Hufflepuff that just doesn't get it sometimes. More than a little socially awkward, sarcasm and the subtle nuances of the teenage social scene are utterly lost on him. Not to say that he's not smart, for he is – he's a practical prodigy, with a practically eidetic memory. While he is friendly, he's reserved and quiet around people he doesn't know. An idealist, Raph just wants everyone to get along, and often tries too hard. While he can be quite the pushover, with his lack of athletic ability and naiveté, he just likes making them others happy (even if he's stepped over in the process – though admittedly, it happens quite often). But beneath that awkward, stick-in-the-mud exterior is a true Hufflepuff with loyalty, compassion and a big ol' heart. Not that you could ever see it with your judgmental eyes.

Riley Elena Kramer is a golden-haired grey-eyed 4th year (14 yrs. old) Hufflepuff who can take care of herself. She's independent, with spirit, wit, a good heart, and a temper. The signature Hufflepuff patience is a bit lacking in this one, but if she sets her mind to something, she will never give up. Riley lives in the moment, believing that every second should be the best one you've ever lived- don't be afraid to live while you have the chance. This sweet, golden girl tries her best to be strong and carefree- but she's never had enough love and acceptance in her life. Here's hoping she can find it.

Sabrina Riley Duff, an auburn-haired, brown-eyed 4th year (14 yrs. old) Hufflepuff is trying. She's curious and eager, and cares deeply about everything she does. Shy and reserved because of her insecurities and the teasing of other students, Brina has trouble stepping out of her box, but when she does… all the things she's observed about people in general make her an understanding, wise, loyal, and surprisingly brave friend. Though her bluntness and liability to get flustered can impede her success with the masses, once you dig a bit deeper, you'll find so very much more than you'd expected.

Gryffindor:

Kaitlin Marie Conway, a dark brown haired, honey-eyed 4th year (14 yrs. old) Gryffindor is her own kind of brave. She's always tried to be good enough for everyone else, and doesn't want anyone else to leave her. She's shy, almost to the point of standoffish, and wonders why she was sorted into Gryffindor. But once she trusts and knows you, she blooms like a flower- in all kinds of ways you would not expect. The introverted wallflower becomes a stunningly loyal, witty and brave friend who will stay by your side forever- and just hopes that you'll do the same. But she has scars, as we all do- and healing is slow.

Vincent 'Vin' Sloan, a dark-skinned, long, black haired, brown-eyed 5th year (15 yrs. old) Gryffindor is much more than what meets the eye. His laid-back, jovial playboy attitude conceals an earnest, cunning, loyal boy who really cares about what matters. He tends to go over the top about the things that he cares about, and isn't afraid to fight for what he believes in. Vin cares deeply about everything he does, and regardless of the situation, will never turn his back on what is important, and what is right. But respect is something that's earned, not freely given. And few truly deserve it, especially certain Slytherins…

Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team (Chaser)

Helena 'Helly' June Ward, a champagne blonde, dark-eyed 4th year (14 yrs. old) Gryffindor tends to live up to her name- but only if you bug her. Though her impulsiveness, destructiveness, and very light-footed sense of remorse and responsibility can make her a bit of a time bomb, Helly is one of the most loyal and steadfast people you'll ever hope to meet. Caring and cynical, once you earn her trust and respect, you're friends for life. Helly's opinionated, and not afraid to show it- she thinks house rivalries are stupid and aren't afraid to say so. She has never been afraid to be fully and truly herself, and it shows.

Beater for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team

Mason Matthew Boyce, a platinum blonde, brown-eyed 5th year (15 yrs. old) Gryffindor is just looking to have a little fun. Mace isn't asking for much-just some laughs and pretty girls and the truth. But he never did know when to stop- and many people have gotten hurt because of it. Including him. In truth, he's scared of what lies behind his jokes- maybe it's nothing at all. Or maybe it's a loyal caring friend who's actually scared out of his wits of never being anything more than the class clown. Who knows?

Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team

Ravenclaw:

Abigail Daniel Whitson, a light auburn-haired, hazel-eyed 4th year Ravenclaw has a wonderful memory. Of good and bad alike. Once you do something to violate her trust or hurt her or her friends in any way… that memory will not go away. And the sweet, wise, and at times ditzy Ravenclaw can turn into your worst nightmare. Abby can got from sweet to cold, from ditzy to startlingly wise, and from immature to world-weary in the space of a minute- all thanks to the incredibly significant actions of others. Because of this hot-and-cold attitude and her tendency to isolate herself from others, she hasn't made many true friends… but to tell you the truth, family will always be more important. But then, what is family but those that you love and that love you in return?

Beater for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team

Leopold Cedric Chambers, a black-haired, profoundly blue-eyed 4th year Ravenclaw saw early on that it doesn't mean much, in the end. Love does, of course, friendship and doing what's right- but petty arguments not so much. With a comfortable, wealthy home life, Leo focuses on the bigger picture, which can leave him a bit missing in the sugar-coating department. Laid-back, thoughtful, sometimes brooding and yet profound, loyal and insightful, Leo tends to see things on a deeper level- and reacts accordingly. His combination of passiveness, fierce determination and daring can culminate in a lot of regrets, but it never effects the way he sees life- as a challenge to be undertaken with grace, insight, handled with care, and never, ever taken too seriously. But some things can't be left up to fate- you have to fight for them. And fight he shall…

Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team

Owen Donald Wallace, a brown-haired, mischievously and at times solemnly blue-eyed 4th year Ravenclaw knows what's going on- in your head and out. And no one can tell him where to take that knowledge. He's wise, witty, and unpredictable- often he turns taciturn and defensive and tries to take out his problems on others. He hates it when people give him grief about his adventurous, mischievous side, and hypocrisy and corruption are something he will fight against at all costs. His cleverness, cunning, and overwhelming goals and ideals combined with the social grace and bluntness of a rhinoceros, Owen is the elephant in the room. The biting remarks he makes on occasion are always regretted, as the person uttering them who is so sure of the world around him isn't as comfortable within his own mind. Loyal, clever, and witty, and unwilling to follow the beaten path, Owen knows he isn't like the rest- but what does that make him but an outsider? There must be something more. There _must_ be.

Keeper for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team

Brianna Marie Skvarla, a honey-brown haired, hazel-eyed 4th year Ravenclaw is a puzzle, one that doesn't reveal all its pieces until the very end. Lost in the inner working of her mind, the outside world goes on around her, and the frustration she feels at the meaninglessness of it all builds up inside her, just waiting for a chance to escape. Twisted into a sort of hatred never shown the light of day, her desperate, childish need for belonging is the very thing that makes her unwilling to try. Her wit, leadership and compassion combined with her self-doubt and unwillingness to break the rules means she's complicated, and she'll never be anything but. Perhaps it's the way they look at her, so dull-eyed and all too ready to shoot her down that makes her so liable to step back into the shadows, enjoying the company of none barring herself and her questions that never seem to hold answers enough. But when she steps out into the light, nothing will stop her- capable, fierce and loyal to a fault, and on a quest for truth.

Chaser for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team

* * *

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and everything means something, and the things that are the most difference, the furthest from what we know, mean the most of all, for better or for worse.

And yet somehow, everyone carries on as though they don't realize how terribly uniform and monotone the world has become. Less and less are our hearts and minds ruled by kindness and wisdom and the urge to do the right thing, less and less do we look beyond the surface to what lies within. But maybe that all can change.

An epiphany has happened— lost in their minds and hearts and words and promises, this group of students, this extraordinary conglomeration of young witches and wizards felt something change. Some kind of barrier broken down, a dam giving way to a flood, and an abrupt awakening from a slumber that has gone on for far too long.

A clock chiming the hour of destiny, the moment of realization and awakening- It's time. Time to begin, time to grow, time to start speaking after all these years of listening, start standing up instead of stepping back, and above all seek out what is true and not hide behind comforting lies. The slow fade into grey is the thing we fear and dread the most- and it's time to start fighting for the right to be something other than ordinary- because every single one of us here can be ever so much more.

And it's not just empowerment of the insecure teenage population we're fighting for.

We're fighting for magic, we're fighting for love, and we're fighting for passion and empathy and every feeling and spell and power that has been denied all these years that we've labored under these delusions, thinking that this is all there is. What else could there be?

Infinitely more. More than you can ever imagine.

Maybe we can start to.

And maybe this collection of long-shots can light the way.

* * *

Bad Dreams, or The Side Effects of Waking Up.

* * *

He shook his head at the first year who had so foolishly got in his way, and said "Kid, I don't know if your dad left because of your mum's magic or the fact that you were just that much of a disappointment."

The first year's face fell, and Owen Wallace smiled, his anger and sadness barely disguised by the dull malicious glee. "Oh, struck a nerve, have I? Kid, I'm just saying out loud what you always knew. That you, your mother, and your deadbeat dad are all good for absolutely nothing. Hear that? Nothing."

"Leave him alone, Owen." said Brie quietly

"Oho!" he said looking around with a snarky smile. "The bookworm speaks! What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of the crowd gasping in disbelief"

Now with a bit of fire in her eyes, she repeated "I said leave him alone."

Owen advanced toward her incredulously, swaying back and forth, hysteric and deranged. "_Leave him alone? _Listen here, everyone. She wants us to _leave him alone. _It's just a bit of fun, Brianna. And if you'd get the stick far enough out of your rule-loving, self-righteous ass, you'd be able to have a good hearty laugh at this spoiled prick who has never been anything but annoying and stupid and cruel instead of making a fool of yourself trying to defend him. "

She moved closer to him, her voice louder than most anyone had heard her speak "And maybe if you'd pull your outrageously inflated head out of the bottomless pit of arrogance, spite, bitterness and complete and utter bullshit it is so completely buried in, you'd see why I'm not laughing. Now leave the kid alone before I show you exactly what I learned from all those books" She pulled out her wand and pointed it at him.

The crowd went quiet, and a soft "Oohhh" was heard, further incensing Owen. His face red, he took out his own wand and kept going with increasing hysteria "Why do you care so much what I say about his mum, eh? She's what makes him the little brat that he is- His mum is just a boring, stupid old muggle. "

Brie's face went white, and Owen took the opportunity "Oh… That's right. It's because your mother is one as well. Nothing special- much like you, in fact. She's a muggle, isn't she?

Once again the crowd went "Oohhh", and several stepped forward, though what they would do they weren't quite sure. But Brie stayed calm, despite the overwhelming urge to beat the boy in front of her's brains out, instead turning his own words back on him like the Ravenclaw that she was.

"Yeah, she is. But my father's a wizard- a fairly great one, at that. I know that for certain. And if my memory serves me correctly, I don't think we can say the same thing about yours."

Owens face went even redder as the crowd oohed "You don't talk about my father."

Ignoring him, Brie shook her head "But there it is. Doesn't this make you a bit of a hypocrite, Owen? Berating people for their parentage when yours is no different- taking out your own petty abandonment issues on a defenseless first year? You should know by now that that won't help you, Owen. For a Ravenclaw, what you're doing isn't very _smart."_

He lifted a trembling wand arm higher "You shut your mouth. You-you have no idea."

"You know, for once in my life, I don't think I will. You are not the only ones with problems, Owen Wallace, and you're not the long-suffering, clear-sighted tragic hero you're painting yourself as. You're just a kid, torturing another kid because you feel inadequate- or whatever other twisted reason or spell that's making you do this. Consider this a wake-up call- no man is an island, and you are hurting people, and it needs to stop."

He pointed a trembling hand at the small crowd that had gathered. "They don't- they can't feel what I feel, they don't feel anything- they're like sheep, I don't understand how they can-"

He put his head in his hands, and Brie stood there for a moment, looking at the shaking form of her housemate and almost friend, the blank stares of the crowd, and the startlingly alive eyes of three- scattered, but all filled with some sort of realization. She met the eyes of one- Gianna Daniels, she realized with a start and a bit of foreboding. The Slytherin princess was well-known- and not favorably either. But curiosity overcame her misgivings, and she sent a silent message with her eyes that she hoped the other girl would understand. _'By the lake.'_ She subtly raised a finger and pointed out the window. She saw Gianna nod, and then looked back at Owen, who was still sitting on the steps.

She turned her back, and as she walked away so did the crowd, filled with the generic mutterings of schoolchildren- and she became aware of someone behind her. She whipped around, exhaling exasperatedly when she saw the familiar, scrawny form of Raphael York. She internally sighed, and attempted to brush him off. "Not now, Raph."

Ignoring (or just oblivious to) her obviously closed-off expression, the boy said in a nasally voice that he'd mostly outgrown, but slipped back into in moments of stress "Brie, why'd you do that? I mean, you don't yell at people, you hardly talk, all the people in my year say so, but I've heard you talk, but never like that Brie, what happened?"

The girl turned her back on the boy, irritated. "I said not now." She walked off, a little guilt entering the pit of her stomach as the boy's expression fell, and she almost regretted being so short with him. Nice, he was. Tactful, he was not. Their parents were colleagues, and he was one of the only people at Hogwarts who'd seen her in her element around magical creatures in the great outdoors. Sometimes she felt like it was just another weakness.

Shaking her head to clear it, Brie turned on her heel to face the staircase, she saw Professor Noir standing atop the landing. He looked at her solemnly and she felt a little thrill of panic- How long was he standing there? But he just smiled, and she almost thought he winked, before slipping off into the shadows.

Brie blinked, then, shaking off the oddity of the whole affair, kept walking towards the place where she would meet with the bright-eyed girl who would hopefully answer some of her questions as to why that brightness was missing- completely and utterly missing- from the rest of the world.

* * *

The Legends Wake, or Well-Met, My Foe

* * *

Minutes later, Brie stood in the bright autumn sunlight, waiting on what now, after the rush of excitement, seemed like a long-shot. What reason could _Gianna Daniels _possibly have for meeting her here- except to answer some questions, questions that may be the only thing in the world that they share. But maybe it'd be enough.

It was. The girls spotted one another from far away, and met in the middle. Realizing that they'd conversed perhaps once in their lives, they shifted uncomfortably, studying one another. Brie scrutinized the girl in front of her- just another person she'd thought about as exactly what they appeared to be. But this close, you could see something beyond the surface. And with a dull shock, she realized that something was fear. Perhaps that, more than anything, lent her courage, and she was the first to speak. "I'm glad you're here. Maybe you can help me understand something."

Gianna's eyebrows raised sardonically. "And what may that be? Fashion? I'm afraid you're beyond help, darling."

Brie shook her head, the snide comment barely penetrating her thoughts, because this close, she could see that the barb had no meaning, no intent, just a phrase thrown about to keep up a façade. "You and I both know that things aren't as they seem. People, things, words, wands- magic. Why pretend that you don't know exactly why you're here- that you don't see it too?"

The Slytherin looked around and said sharply. "Not here. Farther away." She abruptly walked away, towards the lake's shore, and Brie followed her, feeling rather silly. Once they were over 100 ft. from the nearest human being, Gianna turned to her and said "How did you know? That it's more. Magic. How did you find out?"

Brie said "Half-burned books can still reveal much of the past- and look around. They're asleep, the whole world- and magic is fading, or else it's going somewhere else other than to where it's supposed to be- inside of us."

Gianna raised her head and said "I was close to knowing when the wandmaker ran scared when I almost set fire to his shop. I was close to knowing when the old newspapers my mom used to store her china spoke of Undesirable No. 1. There's a lot that we're missing, Skvarla. This is bigger than anything we could imagine- a cover-up, a coup- something happened that they don't want us to know about. And they're scared- scared of us, and people like us- the ones that see the truth. Let's give them a reason to be."

Brie's eyes widened, and then she nodded stoically, a small smile on her lips, one of determination and maybe a bit of rebellion, who knows? She replied "Ready if you are."

Suddenly, out of the clear, calm waters of the lake, burst a gargantuan creature, with tentacles and a beak, water dripping from its shimmering, slimy form and framing it in the afternoon sunlight. No, it couldn't be. But yes, it was- the Giant Squid. Asleep for ten years, it had become popular mythology, a legend used to scare ickle firsties into behaving on the train. But now, it appeared, it was real and very much awake. Its tentacles waved to and fro, almost as if stretching itself and waving hello, before plunging back into the depths from whence it came, and once again exploding from the still-roiling lake's surface and seemed to float, suspended in the air, before once again plunging into the deep.

A moment of wonder held both girls captive in that moment, so very different and yet terribly the same, until it released them back into the world whose very dimensions had shifted before their eyes.

"I do believe that the creature is on our side." said Gianna

Brie laughed "You make it sound as if we're at war."

The girl turned her head to look at Brie. "Perhaps we are."

Now solemn, the girls once more gazed over the lake, the silence broken by Brianna once more. "A war needs soldiers."

Gianna replied, her eyes never leaving the distant shore "Then we shall start the muster."

Now she turned her head to Brie "You are better suited to the job than I. I've seen it in your eyes- you know their minds, you know people, and you just might be able to make them listen."

Brie met her gaze. "I can certainly try."

Gianna smiled, something she looked rather odd doing, as a smirk was her default expression. "Then I expect an army here at sunset in one week's time."

* * *

The First Soldier, or An Explanation For Side-Effects.

* * *

Gianna left her to her thoughts, and no way was she returning to the dormitories just yet- the enormity of the conversation she'd just had almost erased the memory of her newfound enemy- but not the enemy himself. Shame. He always seemed so… aware.

Startled, she cocked her head, and began thinking about what that truly meant. Aware…

How many people can truly say that anymore? How can the Wizarding world be so powerful and all knowing, and yet so very weak and ignorant? Who among them are as sleepwalkers, going through the motions, content with the theory and incantation and pointless games of success and society? And how many know all that the world is supposed to be, and yet stay silent? Who, even at school, truly knows what it is to feel pain, sorrow, curiosity, and love, and who only knows the semblance of emotion, devoid of authenticity, only feeling and knowing what it is they're expected to? Who?

What exactly where they going to do about it?

And where the hell was she going to find an army?

She saw someone quietly come and sit down next to her as she hugged her knees, deep in thought. "Hi, Leo." she said absentmindedly, drawing a diagram in the sand with a stick.

"Hello." he replied, his eyes somewhere in the sky searching for who knows what. Still searching the clouds, he said with a half-smile "You probably shouldn't have talked to Owen like that."

Brie exhaled, leaning back against the tree's trunk. "Yeah. Probably not."

"He deserved it though. He shouldn't have talked to _you_ like that- or that kid. " said Leo, looking at her. She raised an eyebrow, a bit startled. She'd inferred that the two were friends- "Even if someone did spike his drink." He set a goblet down in the dirt. "Alihotsy Draught, most likely.

Ah. There it was. She exhaled in a sort of 'Aha!' "_That's _what was wrong with him. I knew there was something, I just didn't want him to hurt anyone."

Leo looked at her with a small smile "It felt good though, didn't it?"

She grinned almost in spite of herself "A bit, yeah, it did."

They sat in companionable silence for a while more, until, almost not daring for fear of being shot down, but something told her Leo wouldn't be liable to make fun of her. "Leo…. do you ever feel like maybe, there's something we're missing? I mean, not us, but the world. Like there's something more, just beneath the surface that we can't seem to reach?"

He looked at her solemnly. "Oh, undoubtedly."

Somehow she'd known even before he'd said it, and she didn't know what to say, how to convey what she wanted, conscious at once of the gravity and childishness of what she had almost said.

_Do you want to join an army?_

She shook her head, and turned to Leo, who was still watching her curiously, expecting elaboration. She cast about for a way to communicate the turmoil within her usually well-organized mind, and in the process, discovered even more questions, even more twists and turns and conundrums, and was at even more of a loss.

Deciding to begin with a question, as most things do, Brie said "When you cast a spell, what goes through your mind?"

Leo raised his eyebrows at the seeming randomness of the question, and then furrowed them thoughtfully. "I suppose it's everything and nothing, all at once. You're filled with feeling, the incantation resounds, you picture the effect, and it goes beyond you, void of your thoughts, and yet filled with them, and… It's all that you are and all that you're not, everything and nothing all at once, and at the same time the power is infinite and small, and it always feels like there's this string attached, reeling you in and giving you line, like a kite in the wind, and it makes you feel insignificant and brings back the fear, and then you crash back to earth. Everything and nothing, freedom and captivity, insignificance and the semblance of power…"

His eyes had glazed over, his tone gone dreamy and far-off, and he glanced at Brie, seeming to come back to Earth.

"Sorry." he said, less abashed and more preoccupied, without a trace of a blush or duck of the head.

"No, don't be. That perfectly describes it- better than I ever could. Leo…" she took a deep breath. "Do you think that's how it's supposed to be?"

Leo looked at her thoughtfully. "Depends on whether or not you believe in anything more."

Brie's eyes opened, and she turned her head. "Do you?"

He replied, looking out over the lake. "I have to."

At a loss for words, Brie sat there, pondering his response, she felt as though something had shifted, broken down, washed away- and that maybe change, for once, was a good thing, because the cotton balls that filled her head were washed away, and something began to grow in its place, something good and true and alive.

After all, she'd just found her first soldier.

* * *

Of Winners and Losers, or Fellowship Dooms.

* * *

In the potions classroom, a hush fell over the crowd as the girl walked in- a rarity in itself. Not only was the class never silent, this girl had hardly ever caused a murmur to cease by her mere entrance. And she was finding her newfound notoriety quite irritating, to say the least.

Brie stared down the class for a second or two, then with a lifted chin, sat down at her regular seat beside Abigail Whitson, who gave her a generic, supportive smile before glancing the opposite direction towards the boy who was staring stubbornly at the opposite wall. Brie glanced in his direction, then crossed her arms and began to read the board.

'Today we will be brewing the Scintillation Solution. You will work in partners assigned to you via the fellowship ruling.'

Brie held back a groan as she began scanning the list for her name. Fellowship ruling, the bane of every student's existence. Meant to promote 'Inter-house unity and gender equality and break down boundaries', it paired you with someone of another house, another gender, and naturally went out of the way to make the entire class miserable. The only blessing was not being paired with the person she was trying so very hard to avoid… and yet… She was not in the mood for Slytherins. Not now, and especially not… Oz Osborne. Wonderful. She involuntarily glanced in his direction and he turned his head to meet her gaze. He raised his eyebrows, and then when she rolled her eyes, wiggled them. She just barely refrained from letting go of a childish "Ugh!"

Professor Thresh swept into the room, and when all the students glared balefully, she tapped her foot expectantly. "Well? Get into pairs and start working. As always, follow instructions exactly as written, and do not waste anything at all, any volatile ingredients must be unlocked and measured out by yours truly, on pain of death by detention. Off you go, with fellowship and all that."

When no one moved immediately, she sighed and relented. "I promise this is the last lesson like this 'till All Hallows Eve."

The classroom breathed a sigh of relief, and began to slowly shuffle towards productivity. Reluctantly, Brianna gathered her books and moved to their assigned workstation, where Oz was already seated, nonchalantly leafing through a pamphlet. "So… partners."

She shrugged. "I suppose so."

He sighed and closed the pamphlet, casually tossing it behind his back where it landed in some poor soul's uncovered cauldron and dissolved into purple muck. "Good then. No telling what imbecile I'd be stuck with otherwise. Now, the scintillation solution, if I remember correctly, promotes activity of the cranium, therefore increasing awareness and brain activity?"

With some resignation, Brie replied "Essentially, yes. It doesn't truly increase intelligence, only study and effort can do that, but it heightens one's senses and awareness so they might appear for a while to be, as our textbook so crudely says, 'smarter'." Bending over to make note of that in the margins, she looked up to find the Slytherin looking at her with an odd look in his eyes. She cocked her head "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Merely refreshing to have someone who can keep up, that's all." he said with a self-satisfied smirk.

Rolling her eyes, Brie finished making a note in the margin with a small smile. Before they could do anything else, the professor clapped her hands and said "Now, students, remember to put the porcupine quills into your potion after you mince the garlic and simmer it, not before."

Oz rolled his eyes. "Amateurs."

They set to work on the fairly complex potion, several steps ahead of the groups around them, meanwhile the other pairs made forced conversation, including Owen Wallace and Rosalie Amaro.

The still sulking boy crossed his arms as the girl looked at him curiously, and eventually put her hands on her hips and said "Well, I don't want to be partners with a statue. Honestly, Wallace, at least attempt to act as though you've the slightest interest in the potion and not plotting your revenge on our favorite little bookworm over there."

Owen turned red, and sputtered "Wha- How dare you, you-"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You were hopped up on a potion, she put you in your place. Get over it. And while you're at it, help me mince these garlic cloves."

Muttering to himself and shooting the girl a resentful glare, Owen began to chop the garlic forcefully, gradually relaxing and falling into the rhythm of the action. He looked up when he smelled the distinctly unpleasant scent of burning porcupine quills, and looked over at some poor individual's cauldron that was rapidly overflowing. The theatrical young professor bustled over, tearing at her hair and yelling exaggeratedly "After, you add the quills after, you foools! Now all is lost, all is lost- the Empire shall fall and crumble as Lucifer fell from heaven. It'll give me indigestion- I'm TOO YOUNG TO DIE! "

As she stormed out of the room, Rosa began to laugh, and albeit reluctantly, Owen joined her. They chuckled at the expression on their classmates' faces, the professor's mock hysteria fit, and the sheer absurdity that came with being a magical teenager in today's world. But the laughter soon subsided, and again they fell to work on their potion.

Eventually, Rosa spoke again. "Now what I want to know is what exactly she and Oz Osborne are talking about over there- and if it's the same thing that Gianna Daniels has been brooding about

Owen looked over at the corner where the two were talking- seriously, comfortably, and yet the sound was strangely muffled- a spell? Shaking off the little shiver he got when seeing the serious gleam in their eyes, he scoffed. "What, is this some kind of conspiracy theory, Amaro? Give me a break. At any rate, there's no way that the Brianna Skvarla, that idiotic pompous Osborne, and your very own Slytherin princess would ever talk about something important- let alone even talk to one another at all."

Rosalie gestured grandly over to the potions table across the room. "And yet…"

Owen looked deeply skeptical, and she continued, rolling her eyes. "Think what you will, Wallace- but I know Daniels, and I know Oz. This isn't your average circumstance- not even close. And I, for one, am very curious as to what the subject of that conversation may be. How about you?"

Owen sighed, and once again looking the conversing pair, he threw up his hands. "And how do you propose we find out, Amaro? Go up and ask them?"

She clucked her tongue. "Really, Wallace. I thought you were smarter than that. Oh, wait- no, no I didn't." Before he could retort something of his rapier wit that would _doubtless_ put her in her place, she continued "If I'm right, _they'll _tell _us_. Look around. Remember what you said-'They're like sheep', I believe it was- well for once you were right. Do you see any person in the entire room besides you and I, Skvarla and Oz, and that girl, Whitson, that even looks remotely aware? Think about that, for a second, and maybe you'll see a pattern."

Owen sat dumbfounded for a moment, then slowly nodded, and said "Do you think it has something to do with that- why they all look like they're asleep?"

Rosa shrugged. "I don't know- but I have a feeling we're going to find out. Oh, and you know what might help? Making up with Skvarla. I find people are less likely to share secrets once their self-esteem has been shoved off a cliff by a housemate hopped up on hysteria potion, who hasn't gotten over himself enough to apologize."

The bell rang before Owen could reply, and Rosalie was gone. Owen looked over at the table where Oz and Brie were packing up their things. He made a little promise in his mind- one day, everyone would wake up, and know, that Owen Wallace was the one who made them see the light.

* * *

Something soon interrupted the work of Oz and Brie, though in a manner they rather welcomed for its sheer hilarity. Not five minutes after the professor's reminder, the sound, sight, and smell of a slowly bubbling purple muck reaching its explosion point filled the air as the theatrical young professor bustled over, tearing at her hair and yelling "After, you add the quills after, you foools! Now all is lost, all is lost- the Empire shall fall and crumble as Lucifer fell from heaven. It'll give me indigestion- I'm TOO YOUNG TO DIE! "

The pair looked at each other as the professor fled the room, and burst into laughter. The student whose cauldron had overflowed sat dumbfounded, and as Oz and Brie recovered from their laughter, Oz regained some of his haughty demeanor, and said through lingering chuckles "It's amazing how few people really bother to pay attention. That, or they're all idiots."

Brie looked at him reproachfully- but it was rather ineffective, as she was still laughing herself. "Isn't that a bit unfair?"

Oz waved her off. "Fine. MOST of them are idiots." She shook her head, going back to her potions book, and he looked at her sidelong. "And anyways, who are you to talk about being fair? I've heard some tales about you, Brianna Marie."

She snorted. "Likely you've just heard the one, repeated and twisted. It's pretty much the only thing I've done that any of your informants would have heard about."

"Granted. Tell me, then, what did the keeper boy do to irritate you so?"

She looked down, abashed. "Nothing. It wasn't him, not really. Someone spiked his drink with Alihotsy Draught."

"And who in the world would ever do that?" said the boy with a glint in his eye.

Brie stopped with the garlic half-minced. "You didn't…"

Oz heaved a sigh. "No, but I may know who did. At any rate, what I want to know is what banished the bookworm enough to get you to stand up to him."

She bit her lip, irritated. "I just didn't want anyone to get hurt."

He smiled. "Ah, noble intent- how rare and true a thing, if indeed that was your only motivation. Well, our friend Owen seems pretty fanny-bothered about the whole affair. "

Brie burst out laughing. "_Fanny-bothered_?"

Oz looked affronted "Well, yes. Why not? It's a valid adjective. For those eloquent enough to use it, such as myself."

"Whatever, Osborne. You're delusional" she said, shaking her head.

"And you're evading the question." he persisted.

"What, the question of why 'fanny-bothered' is most definitely NOT a valid adjective?"

He looked at her, and half-sang "You're doing it agai-ain."

Exasperated, she stared at the wall, fighting down a mixture of guilt, dread, and anxiety. "I don't know what you want from me, Osborne."

"What I always want. _The truth._" he said, his eyes flashing as she met his gaze.

"Well, in that case, you should ask a Hufflepuff. Now why don't we finish the potion." she said, breaking eye contact, and dumping the garlic she'd been forcibly mincing for the past minute or so into their cauldron which hissed, the cloud of smoke momentarily blurring the strange fear in her eyes- how had he gotten her to talk to him? To open up and laugh, just like that, with a few words and a smile, when she knew he couldn't be trusted? Hell, she didn't even like the boy- and yet, she was on the verge of telling him everything. She had always been so good at keeping up barriers, and this boy's ability to break them down scared her. She resolved to be more careful, and they returned to the potion in silence.

Oz sat with his arms crossed, watching her irritably, impatient, but with a gleam in his cold eyes that she was trying not to meet as she completed the potion to perfection. As soon as she'd added the last ingredient, he waved his want, and the potion was bottled, the workstation clean, and the class around them silent and blurry.

She sighed and addressed him without looking his way. "We're not allowed to do this- you know all magic is forbidden outside of lessons. You'll get in trou-"

"No I won't. I never do." Oz interrupted her, smiled maddeningly.

Disapproval shone in her eyes, and he held up a hand peremptorily. "Spare me, Skvarla. 'Oh no, we mustn't do magic outside of the proper time, lest the others see and their feelings are hurt- use of magic isn't fair outside of textbooks, and we all must be equal, because life will always be fair and equal for everyone.'"

His voice rose in an insulting imitation of her own, and then he spoke in his customary arrogant, deep tone, his voice raised a bit in anger. "It's a stupid rule- trying to oppress our freedoms, get us to be ordinary, tie us to the textbook. Doesn't it ever make you mad? Don't you ever want to know and do more than what they give you, don't you want to use the gift you're born with? Because you're sure as hell not using it here and now, or else you'd be gone and I'd have puss-filled boils on my face. I know you want to hex me, but you won't. Why? Because you're _afraid. _It's pathetic, and you know it.

She shook her head, successfully storing away the hurt and leaving only the anger, and she looked at the arrogant boy leaning forward and she leaned forward as well. "You may have the largest information empire in the castle, Osborne- but don't pretend you know my mind. Because you are woefully and irrevocably wrong, wrong about me and everything that I stand for. And one day soon, you're going to find out what I mean."

He spoke with a slight edge to his voice. "I prefer to find things out beforehand, Brianna."

Brie looked at him piercingly. "I don't like you, James. I don't like your apathy and your arrogance- Overestimating yourself is going to be your undoing. I don't like the way you revel in others misfortune and manipulation, and I don't like the way you pretend to be all these things you're not. And I don't trust you, James Osborne. Not one bit."

He looked at her dubiously. "And yet you trust Gianna Daniels."

Brie lifted her chin stubbornly. "Circumstantially, yes."

Oz's eyes flashed- suddenly she angered him, this girl who refused to be manipulated or charmed. His voice dropped to a biting whisper. "You don't like me? Boo-hoo. You don't trust me? Good, you shouldn't. That is not why I'm here, Brianna Skvarla. I am here because you know something I don't, and I am a curious, curious young man. Now I don't imagine you care all that much about whatever tidbit Gianna let slip to you- in fact you probably don't even know what it means, and you really aren't any good at keeping secrets so why don't you leave that to the experts?"

Her expression hardened, and her eyes flared with a bright and sharp anger, and she said in a voice just as biting "At risk of sounding like a broken record, can I just say that I find it just a little sad that you are so very wrong- I was under the impression that you knew everything. Is it devastating to you to discover that you're not going to win? Ah, but you do love to play the game, but you can't stand to lose."

For a moment, he was speechless, and then a slow, malicious smile spread across his face, and he leaned in close to the stubborn girl's ear and whispered. "But neither can you." He leaned back, and they stared one another down. "That's why this game is so terribly exciting- high stakes, and a persistent opponent."

He sat up, his eyebrows quirked. "I like a challenge- you're a tough one, Skvarla. If you were any less good at the game, I'd break you easily."

He leaned in close again and whispered "But what would be the fun in that?"

The spell was lifted, the bell rang, and then she was gone.

And James Osborne didn't have any boils.

At least not on his face.

* * *

The Game is Afoot, or Of Chance and Pure Circumstance

* * *

The Ravenclaw quidditch team sat in the locker room, tightly wound and excited, Brie and Abigail quietly taking as Abby played with her hair and Brie bounced on the balls of her feet, avoiding conversation with the still-incensed Owen and thoughts of anything but Quidditch. Leo was staring off into space as usual, and the other team members were congregated in a corner admiring the newest broom in Witch Weekly magazine. The clock quietly chimed- the game was starting in five.

With a reluctant sigh, the team captain, Benjy Johanson, unglued his eyes from the page and motioned his team over. "Alright, Ravenclaw. We've been practicing for this- facing Slytherin- and it's going to be a different type of game. Strategy is our forte, but it's theirs as well- and manipulation besides. So we've got to play clean and keep it simple- psych 'em out with the plan of no plan at all. Leo, circle high and above. Don't want you getting hurt, and they're sure to target you. Owen, maybe let a couple in- tamp down your pride and just do it, man. No buts. Abigail and Sarah, focus on the defensive, we can't have people getting hurt- but if they're a few points ahead and you feel safe, send 'em reeling with a bludger to the groin- preferably the one with the ball, ladies. Brie, Lee and me" he paused to chuckle at his own rhyme while the team rolled their eyes "Will be sure to put into action all those blitzes, drop-backs and maneuvers we've been working on, and we won't project our passes- unlike Hufflepuff, the snakes **_will_** pick up on it."

"And don't overthink." The team turned to look at the group of students standing in the doorway- their one-time opponents and at this moment, allies- the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. The one who'd spoken was the team captain, Vin Sloan, and he stepped forward as he continued "Yes, we know you've got brains the size of melons…"

Mason Boyce picked up the dropped ball with a small smirk "But try and tone it down. I'd like to see the snakes get beat."

Cutting off whatever witticism that was doubtless going to fly out of the Captain or keeper's mouth, Abigail folded her arms and said with a slight smile "Then we're united in that."

The team stood with a resolution as the Gryffindor Captain and Chaser nodded, satisfied with the outcome- the Ravenclaws were ready for battle.

The moment of empowerment and fellowship soon grew stale and awkward, and just as both teams began shifting uncomfortably, the referee poked his head into the locker-room/tent. "I think you kids should head out onto the pitch. The game starts soon, and the fans don't like to be kept waiting."

"Yes, Professor Walnut" the two teams chanted in unison, by now used to the jokey manner and occasional third-person speech of their kiddish, messy-haired Charms professor and Gryffindor Head of House.

As he walked away, they heard him call "And a fair game, ladies and gents! No special treatment for the snake-killers!"

Abigail suddenly snorted with laughter, and the team looked at her questioningly. Blushing, she shrugged "I just had a strong memory of the jungle book."

As the majority of the team was well versed in Muggle literature, they began to laugh, and Leo raised an eyebrow. "I think we've got a new battle cry, ladies and gents."

The team laughed again, glad for the light-heartedness that banished their fears, and they agreed upon the new anthem.

As the team walked outside, and the signal came to mount their brooms, Abigail looked at her team members, shaking with suppressed laughter, and with a twinkle in her eye, began to count down on her fingers. The captains shook hands, and Professor Walnut counted down and the commentator coughed into the microphone, and the Ravenclaws and Slytherins took to the skies, and the team clad in bronze and blue, debatably the most reserved house in the entirety of Hogwarts, shot into the air like rockets, shrieking in a terrifyingly good semblance of a mongoose "Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!"

After a five second period of silent confusion, laughter began to fill the stadium intermittently, and Professor Walnut could be heard wheezing with laughter on the ground. The Slytherin Chaser in possession of the ball was so disoriented that Brie was able to whiz past and snatch the ball out of his hands and make it halfway down the pitch before he could even swear in frustration. The commentator could be heard attempting to recover and resume his play-by-play "Um... yes, mongooses with the quaffle, I mean ravens- no, eagles. Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw chaser Brianna Skvarla with the quaffle, a nice pass to Lee Ker- Oh, no, what a blitz, team captain Benjy Johanson with the quaffle, going fast towards goal, closer, closer- missed the shot? No, that was a pass, a pass to Skvarla who shoots and scores! 10-0 Ravenclaw!"

The game continued in much the same manner, with much maneuvering on both sides, until the score was tied at 40-40, and Slytherin had the Quaffle. "Possession Slytherin, Captain Gianna Daniels, racing down the field with the Quaffle, oh- bludger mightily close to the head, nice hit by Ravenclaw Beater Abigail Whitson-Ooh, Daniels rolls to avoid it and passes to Osborne- Ooh, return shot from Iris Grey, Slytherin beater- and a doozy too, narrowly missing the head of seeker Leopold Chambers, who along with Rosalie Amaro, has had little to do so far tonight. No sign of the snitch yet, ladies and gents- now Osborne at goal, squaring off with Keeper Owen Wallace- can he save it? Oh, ooh, Owen, I don't think our referee is going to like that kind of language. 50-40 Slytherin!"

"Ay! Owen!" The captain zoomed over to the red-faced keeper, saying sternly "Sportsmanship, lad. We don't play like that, Wallace. Not on this pitch, and not on this team." Benjy whooshed away again, and a still-redder Owen muttered angrily "Like hell we don't."

"Ravenclaw once again in possession of the Quaffle, Lee Kerens- Osborne playing extraordinary defense, Kerens throws a longshot pass, Quaffle's heading for the ground- rescued on a dive by Skvarla, extraordinary pullout almost at crash level, and what's this- a shot- a goal! 50-50 Ravenclaw! And wait- what is Ravenclaw seeker doing? Leo Chambers appears to be spacing out once more- or else- Chambers pulls into a drastic dive, hurtling towards the ground, he's seen it, he's seen the snitch!" The crowd fixated on Leo's slow-motion dive, Brianna found herself in possession of the ball, and shrugged, signaling to Benjy for a pass. The announcer noticed a bit late and said "A shot- 60-50 Ravenclaw! Another- 70-50 Ravenclaw! Quaffle in possession of keeper, keeper holds- Amaro gaining on Chambers as he chases the Snitch- what's this? Slytherin Beater sends a bludger- not at Chambers, but at thin air- no, the snitch! Grey has hit the Snitch with a bludger, changing its course! Ravenclaw Beater Whitson responds with one of her own- hitting the Snitch again, and changing its course! Incredible!"

"And once again the seekers are neck and neck- gaining- oh, how exciting- I may faint- no Leo, don't look at the clouds- oh, no, not a cloud, that is definitely NOT a cloud, that's a bludger folks, Iris Grey's bludger- Chambers evades it, but not quick enough, in those crucial seconds, Amaro is ahead- She's got it, she's got the snitch! SLYTHERIN WINS!"

The roar that filled the pitch was deafening- such a spectacular game was seldom seen, and both sides were satisfied that it was a fair and skilled one- and of course, the fact that the outcome was what it was, was nothing but sheer dumb luck.

Yes, that was it.

Luck.

Luck and chance and coincidence- really, everything can be broken down to just that, if you think about it enough. And if everything happens by chance, then the fact that it happened means it wasn't random, because it was luck that made it happen the way it did, and coincidence that both chances were taken.

So it must be meant to be.

Destiny is a pretty word for an uncompromising and cruel thing. It's the universe, or rather man's own way of saying that there is no way around the path laid out for you, be it by chance or preconception.

But mostly chance.

Fate is a better word. The end result, not the road taken. And everyone's fate is essentially the same. We act as if our paths split drastically, when in the end they all lead to the same place.

Where they go from there? Who knows.

It's not nice to think about. It's not comfortable, and it isn't in the slightest agreeable.

Luck and chance and destiny and fate and our own free will all mixed up into whatever it is that turns out to be true- because until it happens, it isn't.

Quite the paradox.

But sometimes it's nice to just believe in fate, instead of chance.

Even if they're essentially the same thing.

* * *

(edit) So I've taken to naming sections individually for some odd reason, but I rather like it.

Thoughts?

I'd like to leave you with this quote.

_"Shipmates never speak of tragedy. They say it's because sailors are a superstitious lot, and think it's bad luck to do so. But maybe it's selfish to speak of sorrow, for who hasn't had their share?"_

_ - Linda Collinson, 'Starcrossed'_

Love,

Leviosa


	3. Chapter 3

**_Onwards Until Forever_**

_As They Gather_

* * *

A/N. ...Hi. *is bombarded with abuse for her lateness and inadequacy*

I'M SORRY!

*writer blathering on, feel free to skip.*

I had all good intentions, I swear. Life's been crazy, and you don't want to hear my excuses- plus I hadn't gotten answers for questions/professors submitted enough to start writing.

So THERE.

It's your fault.

I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I've been writing like a fiend this holiday weekend, yes, on this story, but it was these unconnected pieces of plot and character development that in no way could be compounded into a feasible, sequential chapter, which I know is what I should have been working on but where's the fun in that? I also have a section of story featuring each character prominently,, but they all sorta contain spoilers, but if you want to see yours, shoot me a PM or review.

So I've got a cold, possibly the flu, so I'll update again tomorrow with the second part of this- I'm focusing on making chapters long, but I realized I could break it down so it's less overwhelming. Tomorrow I'll also edit/update character descriptions. Tomorrow...

I know I am an unworthy mortal prone to rambling, procrastinating and lateness, and that I do not deserve such lovely readers and submitters as you wonderful people. Don't give up on me, please?

I am going to attempt to get on a schedule.

*anyone who knows me whatsoever send me doubtful looks*

No, really.

I'll try and update on Sunday nights, every 2 weeks. And if I don't send me hate mail until I do.

There's going to be some repetition, but edited. If there are chunks of unplanned repetition from last chapter, I'll clean it up- let me know.

Thanks to all the lovely peoples who are still reading and have put up with me; thank you to The X Courier for priceless advice and encouragement, and to The Jesteress for being awesome and helping alleviate a severe case of plot bunnies and writer's block.

And so it begins...

Edit: This one got shorter,the other chapter got longer. Ya might anna reread 'em if you get the chance, major editing.

THE STORY'S ACTUALLY STARTING NOW GUYS

I PROMISE.

* * *

The Slytherin Muster or, Of Heroes and Serpents

* * *

The Slytherin Common room echoed with laughter, and the green light shone off the always-damp floor in a way it seldom did- but this, this was a special time. This was victory, triumph, and Salazar Slytherin was smirking in genuine happiness while Rowena Ravenclaw went away to make note of sheer dumb luck. Quidditch is quite the serious matter, and a most dignified and extravagant common room party was most definitely in order after the Slytherins triumphed by the skin of their teeth. The 'dignified celebrations' were well underway, and the common room was in a seldom-seen state of happy chaos. In short, the younger students were giggling and giddy, the older students were wasted, and those in-between avoided all the rest.

So, you see, despite the stereotypes, it was proven.

Slytherins just wanna have fun.

Oz Osborne observed this with a self-satisfied chuckle at his own reference to muggle pop music, sitting debonairly in a stiff armchair watching his housemates. He wasn't one for parties- unless they were to his advantage to exploit. Of course, hardly any of them were- except for when they won at quidditch. Now _that_ was grounds to go absolutely crazy.

Except Slytherins didn't lose it. Not ever. Or, at least, Oz Osborne didn't. It impaired the senses, caring, and socializing was just a doorway through which information passed.

It wasn't his celebration anyways- no, tonight belonged to the seeker and beater who'd saved the day. With a small smile, Oz looked her way to find one half of the dynamic duo, the young unconventional beater basking in the glow of her victory. Iris' eyes were sparkling mischievously and her entire being glowing with pride as a group hung on her every word.

But they'd be gone tomorrow. They always were. It was human nature to want to share in triumph, and then to begrudge it. Of course they wouldn't stick around after the excitement wore off.

And that was the loneliness of Slytherin house, that by their very natures, that they were both always and never alone.

And they knew it.

Scanning the room, Oz met the gaze of a familiar pair of icy eyes, their owner crossing the room nonchalantly, but with clear enough intention for anyone to see.

The queen wanted an audience.

Gianna Daniels quirked an eyebrow at him, and he casually rose from the chair and made his way across the common room to the foyer just beyond the sealed entrance. She met him there, and they stood in silence for a time, sizing one another up.

"Been doing some digging, Osborne?" she said, with a hard edge to her voice.

He shrugged in exaggerated humbleness, hiding a smirk. "Seen some people, heard some things- digging is what I do, dear Gigi."

Hiding her irritation at the hated nickname, she held his gaze steadily, neither of them wavering, until Oz spoke again. "So why pumpkin juice?"

Her face was a mask. "Pardon?"

Oz sighed. "Come on now, Daniels. It's awfully tiring to play these games, and I do believe I'm on your side. Why pumpkin juice?"

Without a change of expression, she turned to look at the message board. "I despise pumpkin juice, you know. I always have."

He waved his hands impatiently "As do I, as does anyone of note."

A slight smirk curved one side of her perfectly sculpted mouth. "Owen Wallace just happens to _love_ pumpkin juice."

Oz chuckled. "And the result of that unfortunate taste was quite amusing- but to you and I, it was more than just amusing. It was your, and mine indirectly, mundane gateway to a girl who knew too much and I know there is no such thing as coincidence as far as you are concerned, Gianna Daniels."

"Coincidences are messy things, Osborne. And rarities at best. Better to avoid them by setting the terms, don't you think?" she said, still focused on the dungeon wall.

He shook his head. "I couldn't agree more. But what was the point, of the potions in only the one drink?"

Gianna's smirk grew wider. "You know, Mason Boyce and Marcus Blackwood also happen to love pumpkin juice."

"So the point was simply to antagonize some of the most impulsive, tasteless blunderers in the school? I'm disappointed, truly." Her expression didn't change, and she tilted her head slightly, as if in her boredom she had resorted to reading the bi-weekly notices of the Gobstone club.

His voice took on a hard edge, and he stepped closer. "But we both know that's not quite true. Because when a Slytherin does something, they profit. They're thorough. And you did, and you were. It wasn't just the pumpkin juice, oh no. The hot chocolate, the sodas, the teas- imagine my surprise to find my own goblet laced with Alihotsy drought. Now to do something like this on such a grand scale, to betray so many of your cronies and risk your golden girl status, there's got to be some kind of logic behind it so I ask you again- What. Was. The. Point."

With a flash of impatient anger in her eyes, she turned to face the stone-faced boy. "Don't be righteous to me, James Osborne. You know what I was doing- I wanted to wake them up- and _it. Worked._"

"And the extra in the pumpkin juice was just for kicks, eh?" He looked at her piercingly. "Yes, they're awake now. But I wonder if it would have been kinder to leave them to their sleep."

Gianna shook her head. "You cannot underestimate them, Osborne. And you cannot overestimate yourself, because it will be the death of you."

A flicker of strange anger flitted across his usually composed face, quickly masked, and he said quietly "Yes, so I've been told." He paused, and then shook his head. "You're building an army, Gianna."

She turned to him, and said with a small smile. "No. She is."

Realization dawned on Oz's face, and Gianna continued "Ah, yes, how did you like having a partner in potions who could keep up?"

He let loose a reluctant, bitter chuckle and said "You're good at this, you know. Keeping yourself safe behind a wall of do-gooders who everyone would expect to take the fall. And behind it all, secret until the very end, the puppet-master, the hero, Gianna Daniels, standing tall, standing alone."

She shook her head. "Not alone. That was never my intention. But God help me I will be standing. I will not fall on the front lines, when so many are willing to ahead of me. Outwit, outlast, survive and triumph- the behind-the-scenes take the last bows, James Osborne. So I'm asking you now- stage or shadow, puppet or puppet-master?

He considered her a moment, and then replied with a crooked smile "I've always liked the spotlight, Gigi. Just make sure the audience is awake when the show starts."

She looked at him appraisingly, and then shrugged. "So be it then."

They sat in contemplative silence for a while, and then she spoke again "Then I'll be seeing you at sunset in six days' time."

Oz shook his head, and said "You are going to tell them, I expect. That you spiked the goblets, that there's a reason they can see clearly now? But I'm wondering if you even did anything at all. Because you see, I get the feeling that you only blew on the embers, because they are no fools-or at least, she isn't. So maybe your little trick only served to prove you wrong- that not everyone is capable of seeing- not until something happens bigger than a sprinkle of powder in a goblet."

Gianna sighed. "No, it didn't work, not on all of them. But the others? It made them crazy enough to want to know more. And possibly stupid, just stupid enough," she raised her voice, walking towards the sliding dungeon wall "to listen at a doorway."

She pressed a switch, and a thud was heard, and an exuberant "Damn it, Iris, get off of me!" By the time the portrait hole was completely open, the two Slytherins were standing tall, chins up, and eyes bright.

Oz waved jauntily. "Girls."

Rosalie inclined her head. "Osborne."

Gianna raised her eyebrows incredulously and shot Oz a withering glare, to which he smiled charmingly. "In on this, were you?"

He shrugged. "They were going to find out anyway. We wanted to know where you stood."

They all stared one another down for a few moments, and then Rosalie folded her arms. "The potion in the goblets was a nice party trick, Daniels. Next time let us in on it."

Gianna nodded. "I take it you'll be joining us at sunset in six," The clock chimed midnight, startling the four Slytherins. "Five days?"

Rosalie nodded "As is Owen Wallace, whom I unfortunately had to use as a vehicle to the information."

A barely noticeable blush grazed her aristocratic cheekbones, as Oz said "Ah, yes,_ unfortunate_ does seems the word to describe the animated conversation held that day…"

"And yours as well." she answered coolly.

They stared one another down, before Oz held out his hands with exaggerated concession. "Touché."

Gianna shot them both a pointed look, and cleared her throat. "Now that your childishness has seemingly spent itself, I ask you now, the both of you- shout or whisper, strategy or folly? James has given me his answer. I do hope that you will choose a wiser one."

Uncharacteristically quiet during the exchange so far, Iris spoke, her voice wavering a bit but growing stronger. "I know what we're supposed to believe, I know what our roles are supposed to be. The puppet-masters, never entering the fray. But what if this is one battle we can't win by deceit?"

Oz shot the girl an encouraging, rare smile, and added "After all, it is deceit itself that we are fighting. How can we win but with the truth?"

Rosalie nodded, and joined in "And as hard as that is for us, we may be the best people to deliver it. Not outright, not all the time, but when it counts, if we ever want to win this fight, we can't hide in the darkness like it seems we always have."

Iris looked at the others gratefully, and again spoke. "Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm a fool. But just once, I'd like to be in the sunlight, even if that means having to fight to get there."

Gianna looked at her with a mixture of pity, bitterness, and admiration. "You are a child, Iris. And I don't understand your need to defy everything we've always stood for when all that's at stake is a meeting of children."

She turned to Rosalie and said. "You think we are the people to deliver the truth? Good luck convincing everyone else of that. Prejudice will always be there, and even if we do fight and work as genuinely as we can, it will be worth nothing to them."

At last she faced the boy who stubbornly met her gaze. She shook her head.

"You are no fool, James Osborne. But make no mistake. You are no hero, either."

She walked towards the portrait hole and opened it, turning to face them one last time.

"None of us are."

She turned her back on the semi-circle of house-mates, each with a strange, sad, righteous expression. But she was wiser, she knew what could and could not be, and the children of the darkness, the cunning and the deceitful- that was what they were, what they would always be, and they could never be heroes.

Even if they wanted to.

* * *

The World at Large, or Of Disappointments and Growing Up

* * *

Professor Walnut sat lounging in the teachers' lounge- why not make it live up to its name? Most of the time it was more like the teachers' sit-up-straight-and-whisper. He checked his watch with an exaggerated flourish, and sighed loudly, causing Hertzog Noir to shoot him an irritated glare from over his newspaper. As the scruffy, lightly red-headed young Gryffindor head of house sipped delicately at his chai tea, Noir Hertzog took off his reading glasses and folded up his paper, whose cover featured flashing images of the new minister being inducted into the hall of fame.

The Defense against the Dark Arts professor was a serious man, with dark salt-and-pepper hair, and liquidy dark eyes. He gave off an aura of mysteriousness and darkness, and was severe and meticulous in punishment and praise alike. The grim man furrowed his brow, thinking carefully before he spoke- something he tried to no avail to impress upon his students. "They should be here soon."

Seemingly conjured up by his words, Allora Thresh swept into the room, followed closely by Deucalion Michealis and Ellis Barker. Jim Walnut tipped his non-existent hat. "Ladies."

The school's nurse Madam Barker, an efficient, middle-aged, brown-haired woman, acknowledged him with a 'Hmph', still annoyed at the incident which had landed an entire class of first years in the hospital wing for a calming drought.

Professor Michealis, the Divination professor and a quirky, reserved, and deeply stubborn woman, inclined her head to the seated men, settling once again into deep thought. Allora Thresh smiled distractedly, her platinum blonde hair falling in her face as she considered the notes written on her hand and arm bemusedly. The school's first female potions master in who knows how long, she was a theatrical, friendly woman with a dark sense of humor and perpetually distracted demeanor.

Time passed, and each lost in their thoughts, the professors of Hogwarts' eyes kept drifting to the clock, until-

The door burst open, and the professors of Hogwarts half-rose, only to shake their heads and sink back into their seats when an abashed Joseph Kingsley, slightly out of breath said "Sorry, it's just me. Not late, am I?"

With an exaggerated sigh, Madam Barker answered "I suppose not, as our _dear_ headmistress and the oa- I mean, ah, _Mister _Berwick, have yet to arrive."

This caused at least three resentful glares to be shot her way- the kindhearted keeper of the keys and gamekeeper was well-liked, despite his tendencies of forgetfulness and aloofness.

Professor Joseph Kingsley settled into an armchair, trying to mask his irritation at the nurse who, after rolling her eyes at the indignation of the other professors, was batting her eyes his way. A genial, hard-working man of middling years, with chestnut hair beginning to grey and bright hazel-green eyes, as veteran staff member he was Deputy Headmaster as well as Hufflepuff's head of house, and looked with affection upon the young teachers anxiously awaiting the meeting's start.

Kingy, as he was called informally by student and teacher alike, looked around the tense room and said "My, aren't we a jumpy bunch tonight- as nervous as first years about to be sorted."

The professors chuckled at their own tenseness, and began to talk more easily, all the while evading the subject that had gathered them in the first place. But only for a little while longer…

Jim Walnut set his tea aside and struck up a conversation. "So, my fellow educators forever at the beck and call of our dear capable ministry, I for one, have found the fellowship ruling has the kids just enamored with one another- forcing them to sit together under pain of detention promotes such unity, don't you think. Of course, they do seem to be more 'accident'- prone. But kids will be kids, even when they try and blow each other up."

Allora Thresh shook her head in disgust. "Don't even talk to me about fellowship ruling. I almost had a mutiny with my fourth year class the other day."

Professor Michealis chimed in "It's worse with the older ones- attempts to force them together only makes the hatred stronger. Maybe if I talked to the minister..."

Kingsley cut her off dubiously. "Calion, you could talk your way out of hell if ever there was the need, but we need to keep a low profile. Besides, there has to be something positive about the Decree..."

Noir Hertzog snorted. "Positive? From the Ministry? I'll eat my hat if you can find one good thing about those idotic decrees."

With a twinkle in her eye, Allora leaned forward. "Well now we've got to find something..."

Jim clapped his hands and snapped "I've got it!"

Deucalion looked at him with disbelief and interest. "This, I've got to hear. "

The others nodded in agreement, and spread his arms, opened his mouth slowly, and dropped the bomb.

"Matchmaking."

The Hogwarts faculty stared, jaws open, as Jim looked at them expectantly. "Eh?"

Ellis Barker found her voice first. "Jim, NO. We don't _**matchmake**_ for our students!"

He looked crestfallen. "Ah, come on! A little, inter-house intercourse, eh 'Barker?"

There was a collective sigh. "Jim, why must you be so immature?

He answered with a twinkle in his eye "Madam Barker, nobody ever really grows up. We just act like adults because that's what we're expected to do."

There was a silence, and then the potions master lifted her glass. "I'll drink to that."

There was a murmur of assent and the professors downed their glasses.

JIm next engaged Kingsley with a sheepish, vaguely guilt grin. "Good to see 'ya then, Kingy- Ah, quick question. I seem to have somehow, er, how can I say, 'lost track, of some goblets. Would you happen to have found any?"

With a twinkle in his eye, Kingsley folded his arms and looked at the younger man. "Well they've got to be there somewhere- goblets can't just up and fly off, after all."

Allora Thresh leaned in, having overheard, and said in an exaggerated whisper "They can if they've got a self-determined flight spell on them. This experiment of Jim's, I might add, served to prove that the Hogwarts goblets do have a mind of their own- I always suspected it. But the trouble is, this blunderer invented the spell without a counter-spell, and show-off that he is, tried it in front of a class of first years- the goblets bloody attacked them, and the whole lot had to be sent to Barker for calming droughts. I'd imagine he's trying to find them before some parent sues on account of a concussion via gilded drinking glass."

"'Lora!" cried Jim, embarrassed.

Kingsley shook his head. "Finite Incantatem, Jim. Finite Incantatem."

The young professor's ears were red. "I had it under control…"

By this time the entire faculty was smiling as they listened in. The older man smiled knowingly "Of course you did. But it just so happens that the goblets, a whole flock of them, entered my classroom the other day, and were a perfect example of imbibing non-living things with life. They are now happily living as rats, grounded and caged- except for a few that escaped. I'd say let them lie, so long as they don't do any harm. Who knows, maybe they'll become a Hogwarts legend- "The Flying Goblets of '99!"

They all shared a laugh at that, until the scratchy bass of Noir Hertzog was raised.

"If we last long enough to have another legend."

That banished the light-heartedness quick enough, and the professors became solemn.

"We'll last that long and more. We'll have more legends, Noir. As long as I have something to say about it."

They all turned to look at the speaker- the Headmistress had returned. After a month-long journey, Eleanora Olvera was back at Hogwarts, and her welcome was warm indeed. She was a proud woman of late middle age, with greying brown hair pinned up tightly and bright blue eyes unfaded by age. A woman both motherly and severe, she presided over the school capably and lovingly. Wickedly stubborn, unfailingly loyal, and at times deeply philosophical, other times purely pragmatic, she was respected and liked, if not feared, then unquestionably obeyed.

Behind her was Arthur Berwick, the Keeper of the Keys, seldom seen inside the castle, practically a legend himself- of course the students knew he was there, but hardly any had seen him, and the 'ghost man and his hounds' were an object of dark speculation by the students- all in good fun, of course. A shy, strange man with halting speech, Wick, as he was commonly called, kept to his home in the forest, with countless recued creatures, magical and mortal, for company. The man, previously thought only prone to daydreaming, was a seer, and after spouting an unprecedented prophecy, it was decided he would do well at Hogwarts, where he could be kept an eye on and employed.

Filled with relief and hope at her return, the Headmistress' words and presence seemed to hearten the professors, and they welcomed her back home. She embraced them warmly as old friends, complimenting each on their teaching and commenting on how well they looked.

Wick did not stand unnoticed for long, and Jim Walnut jumped to his feet "Wick! Great to see you, my man, absolutely wonderful!" he clapped him on the back, and a crooked grin spread across the big man's face.

Allora Thresh added "You've done a fantastic job on the Great Hall Wick, it hasn't been this beautiful in years!"

Deucalion Michealis nodded her agreement, smiling warmly at her fellow seer and delicately shaking his hand.

"Will you be joining us tonight, Wick? We'd love to hear your thoughts on things." said Joseph Kingsley, warmly pumping the groundskeeper's hand. Noir Hertzog nodded in affirmation, also shaking his hand firmly.

The big man shook his head. "No, can't be staying. Claudio's ill, and the hounds are anxious- animals, they know what's coming better than people do. All you best learn much as y'can. Headmistress'll tell you. Storm coming."

His words sent chills down their spines, and he heaved a sigh, his eyes still dreamy. "Best be going. 'Arwell, Hertzog, Kingy, 'Calion, 'Nut, 'Lora. Thanks, headmistress." On his way out, he acknowledged the nurse with a jerk of his head. "Crocodile."

With an indignant huff, the nurse turned away, and he exited the room, an almost self-satisfied smile on his face as the professors suppressed smiles.

The headmistress cleared her throat, and they all fell silent and sat down, alert and attentive.

"I have been many places since we last met. I have seen many things. And I am weary, because my expectations were unfulfilled- we can expect little help from the rest of the world."

There was a resounding exhalation of resignation and fear, and Eleanora nodded grimly. "I know. It is what we had counted on, but it is gone. Even the farthest reaches of the world are not untouched by corruption. We must operate alone- as it seems we always must."

Well operate we will- and why not alone? I know twenty good men and women who would join us in a fight." spoke Walnut, his countenance burning with intensity and eagerness.

"And I another twenty" interjected Allora, a spark in her eyes.

Deucalion Michealis spoke up, seemingly drawn out of her perpetual trance by the fighting words. "Why should we not fight, try to spread the word- we cannot bide our time forever."

Hertzog Noir shook his head. "You don't know what you're saying. You talk of war like children- good men and women, biding our time, alone- you have no idea." he spoke with a grim intensity that made the outspoken teachers shrink slightly.

When Joseph Kingsley spoke, his voice was gentle but firm. "You are young. You fight a war of idealism, and though you are in many ways right, don't be rash. Don't rush into something you are not prepared to finish- or it will finish you. We will be ended before we have begun."

The Headmistress nodded at the professor. "Thank you, Joseph. Now, though I have learned much from my travels, much that I thought I knew has been put in doubt, or altogether proven false. Until this moment, I thought that I could trust my memories. It seems that I was wrong."

The faculty paled. Memory modification, in all its forms, had been forbidden to be all but a select few, and used only in the event of disastrous breaches of the Statue of Secrecy, in order to prevent ethical dilemmas. Or, at least, that's what everyone had thought.

Eleanora turned to the nurse. "Ellis, I know you have checked before. But from now on, please do a routine scan on every student, teacher, and elf that enters your care."

The nurse nodded, biting her lip, and the headmistress addressed the entire staff. "The enemy- Larger than we knew, stronger than we feared, and now we are unsure even of our own minds. Keep a close eye on your students and fellow staff, be watchful and vigilant, and be safe. Thank you all." She swept out of the room, leaving the staff to their thoughts. One by one they too left, murmuring goodbyes and encouragements.

Alone in their rooms that night, the loyal professors of Hogwarts slept naught, nor would they again, until they knew their dreams would be their own.

* * *

A/N. All the other houses are coming tomorrow. So, that be that.

Submitters: Let me know your thoughts, and apologies for non-featured characters. Like I said, shoot me a PM and I'll give you a snatch of your character's story/role/scene/etc.

Also, let me know your thoughts on relationships, in and outside your own characters, who the traitor is, anything you think should or shouldn't happen.

Also, did anyone catch the sherlock reference(S)?

That show has ruined my life in under 10 episodes.

Now I bid you adieu, with the fishy-smelling promise of an update on the morrow.

Iiiit's the sexy endscreen dance!

(For The Jesteress)

Love,

Leviosa


End file.
